


Sirens Dripping Love

by kai of the wild (nakamoon)



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band), TWICE (Band)
Genre: ...a lil bit of tentacles?, Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Magical Girls, Character Death, Dark Fantasy, F/F, Pining, Red Velvet are incubi, Twice are Magical girls, Violence, and also yearning, depressed kids turn into even more depressed kids, some gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-29
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:42:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26056657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakamoon/pseuds/kai%20of%20the%20wild
Summary: Being a magical girl has its perks! She’s pretty, she has cute clothes and, most importantly, Sana is loved by everyone. The only downside to her life, really, is pining for her best friend, Mina Myoui.Meanwhile, in the city of demons, Seulgi finds herself through love, lust, death — and rebirth.a dark mahou shoujo au inspired by twice’sfeel specialand rv’smonster
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Kang Seulgi, Kang Seulgi/Son Seungwan | Wendy, Minatozaki Sana/Myoui Mina
Comments: 6
Kudos: 39
Collections: Girl Group Jukebox - Mixtape Round





	Sirens Dripping Love

**Author's Note:**

> Written for GG Jukebox Mixtape Round! Inspired by Feel Special by TWICE and Monster by Red Velvet I&S
> 
> if you have stumbled upon my little wlw fic...thank you, I hope you enjoy. please do be mindful of the tags! there _is_ character death.
> 
> thank you to the gg jukebox mods!! and to twice and red velvet for being so sexy. also thank you to reet bc she was the demon who induced me to write my first gg fic!!

+

“There’s a girl I like, you know?” Sana says, skirt blowing lightly against the autumn breeze. She twirls around the sakura tree, humming to herself, yet, her sight never leaves Mina.

“There’s always a girl you like,” Mina replies, her eyes distant, looking across the fields of green and into the horizon, where a towering wall of stone resides against the cobalt sky.

“Yeah, but…” she pouts before sitting next to her friend, hugging her legs, “I _really_ like this one.”

“You _really_ liked Nayeon, didn’t you?”

“Mina,” she draws out, “Don’t be mean. I’m still older than you, remember?”

At this, Mina lets out a smile, a soft, tinkling laugh that mixes in with the pink petals falling from the tree, finally looking at Sana. And Sana’s heart clenches, eyes bright, mouth slightly agape because — well, Mina is just the most beautiful girl in the world, isn’t she?

“You never let me forget,” Mina sighs before looking down at the bento box in her lap, taking a _tako-san_ sausage and feeding it to Sana. She munches on it slowly, content. She enjoys moments like these, Sana doesn’t know if there will ever be better moments in life than eating sausages with Mina. She’s a simple girl, one that enjoys the simple things.

From the corner of her eye, Sana looks on wistfully at Mina’s hand, resting just next to Sana’s own atop the emerald grass surrounding the sakura tree. She wishes she could hold it, feel Mina’s soft skin, to tangle their fingers together like she’s done many times before. Many times she's had to pretend to not want something more from her.

“Nayeon likes Jeongyeon, doesn’t she?” Mina asks, offering her the last of the sausages, “She loves to annoy her, but I can tell she likes her.” She takes out a box of strawberries.

Sana shrugs, a giggle escaping from her lips, “Jihyo likes Nayeon. But Nayeon likes Jeongyeon.”

“Who does Jeongyeon like?”

“Her bed,” Sana says, a grin on her lips. And when Mina laughs, it’s like music to her ears — she wants to make her laugh, again and again.

The breeze blows and Sana throws herself onto the grass, taking Mina down with her in a tangle of limbs. “ _Sana,_ ” Mina yelps, taken by surprise, “My skirt is riding up.”

Sana laughs, “No one’s here, who’s going to see you?”

Mina groans but stays on the grass with her, stark hair disheveled, and cheeks flushed. She sighs, succumbing to the fate of being Sana Minatozaki’s best friend. “We’re going to be ok, right?” She doesn’t look at her, Mina’s eyes never leave the unclouded sky above them yet Sana’s smile doesn’t deter, touching the pink ring around her finger. It makes her feel light, powerful, untouchable. Of course she is — she’s **Sugar Girl Sana!** Sweet as candy and unbeatable, one of the nine chosen _senshi_.

“Of course we are, Mina,” she takes her hand, Mina’s matching purple ring glistening under the sun’s bright rays. “Just like we always are. Love conquers all.”

Mina smiles back but it doesn’t reach her eyes; she was always the wisest of them all.

+

“This is a lemon,” Seungwan says, lifting a round ball. Yellow, very yellow.

Seulgi stares at it, mouth agape. “Where did you get it from, Seungwan?” she makes sure to cover the so-called _lemon_ , whatever that might be, from sight. It’s not like any of the Fathers are anywhere near them, Seungwan is too smart for that — she has dragged Seulgi to the tallest spire, the one the girls like to hide in because no one else wants to climb that obscene amount of stairs. Not that Seulgi likes climbing them either, she thinks as the muscle in the back of her legs starts to ache. But Seungwan is Seungwan, there's no use in telling her no.

“I have my ways,” she winks, showing off the little ball again. It's pretty, a splash of bright color against the otherwise dull monochrome of the room. Seulgi’s sight never leaves the lemon even as Seungwan walks up to the window, draping a leg over the windowsill. The sky above them is grey with unshed clouds, always part of the melancholic citadel view.

“Mm,” Seulgi hums, “I see. But pray tell, Son Seungwan, what in the world is a lemon?”

She smiles at Seulgi, bright, ever-curious at the world. “A fruit. A human fruit.”

And there it is. Of course it’s from the other side. Something so bright and colorful and tantalizing — it could never be from their side of the wall. “You’re going to get in trouble,” is all Seulgi says, sitting across from Seungwan, looking out at their gloomy city. She says that just like she always does, and yet, Seungwan never gets in trouble. Because she’s smart and brave. And lucky.

“Not if we eat it first,” she shrugs, peeling the human fruit in front of them. “I read about them in a book from the library’s forbidden section. It seems they can be quite sour and refreshing. You like sour, don’t you?”

This does make Seulgi’s lips quirk up, she certainly likes sour food. Seungwan peels and peels the tough yellow skin, revealing a naked, pale little ball. It does not look appetizing in the least. She offers it to Seulgi first, just like she always does.

With an inward sigh, Seulgi takes the offered fruit and bites into it, hard. Juice dribbles down her chin as she lets the intense flavor fill the inside of her mouth. It’s intense to the senses in a way food from their side of the wall never could.

“Well?” Seungwan asks, closing in on Seulgi, “How is it?”

“It’s so good,” she licks her lips before letting out a laugh because damn it, Seungwan never disappoints her, “It’s so good.”

Seungwan’s eyes shine at the praise, reaching out for the lemon. “I wanna try.”

Seulgi watches as Seungwan bites into the fruit. A pause.

She can almost see Seungwan’s face turn green after a few seconds before she starts coughing. “Seulgi,” she frowns and coughs out, “This is horrible. How can you like this?”

“Oh?” Seulgi blinks, “I thought it was delicious.” She goes to take the lemon from Seungwan’s hands, taking another bite of decent size. Indeed, this is very good. She likes lemons.

“Blegh.”

Seulgi laughs, the taste of lemon still in her mouth. Before Seungwan can react or is aware of what’s happening, Seulgi leans forward, their lips touch in between giggles and lemon juice.

The kiss is joy, innocence. In a terrible, dark world, Seulgi loves her. Seungwan smiles into the kiss.

She lets out a content sigh, “It’s not that bad. The lemon, I mean.”

“It’s still bad, Seulgi,” Seungwan snorts, “No matter how many times you kiss me.”

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe.”

Seulgi leans in again, half-smile on her lips. The door opens with a creak; Seulgi’s heart jumps, scared. She leaves Seungwan’s side in a fraction of a second, both of them alert. Is it perhaps one of the Fathers?

The pulse in her veins quickens and the knot in her stomach clenches, but then — a familiar head of stark black walks in. Seulgi’s heart doesn’t stop racing.

“Seulgi,” Joohyun greets them, voice as soft as velvet, “Seungwan.”

“Joohyun,” the other says, hand on her heart, “You scared us. I really thought—”

“The Fathers would never come up here,” Joohyun raises an eyebrow. “Yerim told me she saw you both around the old spire. I only guessed. You have to be more careful.” She looks at Seulgi’s lips for a second and in a moment of self-consciousness, Seulgi bites her own lips in an attempt to hide them. Joohyun looks at Seungwan, “You’re lucky I came to get you.”

“Why? Are they looking for us?”

She nods. “Not precisely you. All of us. We’re doing a raid at midnight, the Fathers have ordered it. We have to get ready.”

“Oh,” is all Seulgi manages to say, daring to take a look at Seungwan, who is already frowning.

“Joohyun,” she starts, her short hair softly blowing against the cold air that enters the room through the window. “Have you talked to them? To the Fathers, I mean. This can’t go on like this anymore, we’re losing girls _every time_ we head out to the Other Side. They’re too strong, maybe — maybe we can talk to them, to the humans and—”

“ _Seungwan,”_ Joohyun stops her, voice firm. So is the leader of the incubi, firm, immovable. “The Fathers are foolish. They won’t ever listen to us. The humans won’t either. And if you keep thinking otherwise you’re as foolish as them. How many times must we have this talk?”

Seulgi stays quiet, she understands. Both of them.

Seungwan has always been a peacemaker. In their land of demons, that was a fault more than a virtue, one that was looked down upon. Who even dared to be so soft and naive as the black sheep of their church, the ever kind and odd Son Seungwan? To make it into their harsh world, one needed to be tough, to adapt, to cut throats in all senses of the word. One needed to be like their leader, Bae Joohyun.

Joohyun, beautiful, supreme incubus. The favorite of the Fathers.

Seulgi knew though, all the girls knew — Joohyun hated the Fathers, she detested them almost as much as she hated being trapped on this side of the wall, like a caged animal that the humans looked down upon, a race having to fend for themselves in a land of poverty and infertility.

Seulgi understands, she really does. But Seungwan gives her hope. Hope for a new life, one where there is no more bloodshed.

“Tell her, Seulgi,” Seungwan pleads, breaking her out of her reverie, “Tell Joohyun there are other ways.”

Seulgi pauses, looking between the two of them. “I—”

Joohyun scoffs, “I don’t want to hear it.”

“Joohyun—”

“Go get ready, Seungwan. The Fathers want us to fly out by midnight.”

There’s not much left to say, Seungwan knows that and closes her mouth with a sigh. She respects Joohyun, they all do. They fear the Fathers, but they respect her.

She takes one last look at Seulgi, “I’ll see you when it’s time to leave.”

Seulgi nods and watches as Seungwan leaves, closing the door behind her with a soft click. The air is a little colder, reminding Seulgi that the second winter will begin soon.

“Maybe she’s right, Joohyun,” Seulgi sighs, looking out the window. “There’s nothing to lose if we just...talk.”

“Talk? After decades of this, you think humans would like a little chit-chat? You know they hate us. Seungwan is pure-hearted, but that is not a good thing. Not if we want to survive.” She walks closer to the edge of the window, just right behind Seulgi.

Seulgi shivers, feeling Joohyun’s hot breath close to the back of her neck, the small baby hairs rising with goosebumps. She turns around and the other girl is close, _close._ Joohyun whispers, “You smell funny. What were you eating?”

Of course she could smell them, she always did. “Lemon. Seungwan stole one from the other side,” she says rather diffidently.

Joohyun tuts and leans in, licking Seulgi’s bottom lip just a smidge. She takes in the flavor for a second before humming, “Not bad. A little sour.”

“I think it’s good,” is all Seulgi can say before Joohyun leans forward again, their lips crashing together this time. This kiss is want. Pure want. Desire. Unlike anything Seulgi has ever desired before, that is Joohyun.

She kisses Joohyun back, wholly, gasping, her hands on the other’s jaw as Joohyun backs her into the wall, even if she’s shorter than Seulgi by a few centimeters. Something familiar pools at the bottom of Seulgi’s stomach, perhaps even lower, burning.

She feels as Joohyun’s tongue roams around inside her, exploring. Joohyun is something else, even for an incubus.

She leans back, parting their lips, “Joohyun,” she lets out a puff of air that mixes in with the other’s, “You know what I said the other day.”

“Mm,” Joohyun says, dazed, eyes still on Seulgi’s lips. “Do you really want to stop? You know Seungwan doesn’t mind.”

“Maybe not.” Seulgi frowns, moving away, “But I do.”

“Why?” Perhaps the idea is strange to Joohyun.

“I want to kiss Seungwan.”

“You kiss her every day.”

“I think I want to kiss only Seungwan.”

There’s a pause in the air. It’s a strange admission, even to Seulgi’s ears, but it's not too surprising, like a little secret hiding in plain sight. This is the first time she says it out loud. She knows she loves Seungwan, as strange as it might be, as foreign as the concept might be — she loves her. Joohyun doesn’t say anything else, looking at Seulgi with wide eyes. It’s a little funny, Seulgi thinks. Joohyun is their leader, someone they have all always looked up to, powerful, strong. Yet, in moments like this, trying to understand what Seulgi is conveying, she looks like a child trying their very hardest to grasp a concept, head tilted to the side.

She clears her throat, looking at the ceiling, suddenly embarrassed by Joohyun’s scrutiny. “You can always fuck Sooyoung, right? You sill fuck her all the time, I know that.”

There’s silence hanging in the air and Seulgi doesn’t know what Joohyun is thinking — she never does. She moves to leave, it’s getting late and the rest of the incubi soldiers will be flying out to the human city as soon as midnight strikes. She makes her way to leave, just barely moving a muscle before Joohyun speaks, voice unabashed, filling the cold room.

“I don’t want to fuck Sooyoung.”

“Why not?” she frowns.

“You just explained it to me, Kang Seulgi,” Joohyun shrugs, her words simple, “I want to kiss only you.”

She turns towards the door, leaving a blinking Seulgi standing next to the window, “C’mon, we need to head out.”

+

“Sana, over here!” Nayeon calls for her. The older girl is surrounded in a semicircle of people, no doubt citizens of Doko showering the oldest of the senshi with praise.

Sana walks up to them, smile radiant and giggly. She, too, is soon bombarded with _good lucks_ and _you’re amazing_ from people she has never met before.

The people of South Doko adore them, love them, even. There is no higher personality than the _chosen senshi of Doko,_ the magical girl warriors destined to protect their people from the terror of the northern demons.

“Sana, you’re going to do great!” a woman says, a wide grin on her face.

Sana smiles back with much enthusiasm, bubbly as ever, “Of course! Those demons won’t know what hit them! _Love conquers all!_ ” she shows off her ring and everyone looks at it as if it were the grandest thing to behold. It probably is.

Nayeon rolls her eyes in good nature. If there’s anyone who basks in the attention of their beloved citizens as much as Sana, it is Im Nayeon. Mina, who has strayed a bit behind them, not nearly as enthused as the other two, finally speaks up.

“Sana, Nayeon. It’s time to go,” she doesn’t wait for them to reply — Mina simply levitates into the air, her eyes glow a bright lilac, luminescent. The onlookers _ooh_ at the girl in front of them, not used to seeing a senshi using her powers so up close, especially Mina Myoui.

“You heard her,” Nayeon smiles, tall and erect, flipping her hair off her shoulder. She thinks back to her conversation with Mina: she did have a crush on the older girl back in the day. How could she not? Nayeon was everyone’s dream, particularly if one was a budding teenager with awkward hormones and confusing feelings. But then again, Sana had a penchant for getting crushes on her friends. It was most natural.

 _There’s always a girl you like_ , Mina had said. She was right, of course she was. Yet, crushes and love were never the same things.

“What are you looking at, doofus?” Nayeon says when they’re out of earshot. She cracks her neck, “C’mon, let’s get this over with, I’m tired,” she lowers her voice, less chirpy than when the Doko citizens surrounded her.

She waves back at the others one last time before her eyes glow pink. Nayeon glows red, and suddenly, they’re up in the air just like Mina was a few minutes before.

“Race you to the landing, _eonnie,_ ” Sana tries to be heard above the heavy winds. It seems Nayeon hears her, for she snickers with a single nod before she surges forward in a blast, leaving Sana behind, who tries to catch up with her in between laughter.

Soon, they land above the city’s watchtower, where several smaller figures can be seen from a distance.

“Took you long enough,” Jihyo raises an eyebrow at Nayeon, “Don't tell me you were with your little fan club again?”

“Maybe,” she replies easily, shamelessly. The rest of the senshi are there, some more alert than others.

“What's happening? Are they coming here?” Sana walks up to Bang Chan, a mild boy with dark hair. He looks at the far horizon, where the large stone wall protecting their southern city from the demons stands tall.

He nods, looking away from his pair of binoculars for a brief moment. “There's a wave of flying demons coming over. There's quite a lot this time, you girls be careful.”

“ _Tch,_ don’t worry about us,” Dahyun says, taking the binoculars from his hands. “We've definitely taken larger swarms of demons before.”

“I suppose you have,” Chan murmurs, wiping the sweat from his hands, “You still gotta be careful, there’s hundreds of them and only nine of you.”

“And that’s enough,” Nayeon smiles.

The soft pitter-patter of rain against the cement is perhaps a caveat that Sana should’ve taken into consideration.

“I’m going to get my hair wet,” Momo says, much aggrieved, trying to cover her dark bangs from the drizzle. Sana holds back a laugh, Momo’s wet hair tends to fluff up like a poodle’s.

“We’re going to be too busy killing demons to look at your hair, Momo,” Chaeyoung finally speaks, looking too bored about the whole ordeal.

“Better worry about the blood that splatters on your clothes,” Jeongyeon says from where she’s leaning on the watchtower’s edge. “Those are nasty to wash.”

“I don’t know, I don’t think I mind the blood.” Chaeyeong adds, “It adds characters to the uniform. A little poetic.”

Nayeon snorts, “Trust me, the last thing the townspeople want to see is blood. Just smile prettily, Chaeyoung, that’s all you gotta do.”

Sana agrees, she doesn’t see anything romantic about blood splatters. Then again, Chaeyoung has odd taste.

From a not so far distance, a girl’s call is heard, the sound barely carried over by the wind. The newcomers run across the roof, their feet hitting the wet floor, splashing into the puddles everywhere. “ _Eonniedeul_ ,” one of them calls, “Wait up!”

They’re soaking wet, muddy. Sana smiles at them, genuinely, when she sees who it is.

“Ryujin,” Jihyo asks, surprised, “Yeji, what are you doing here?”

Yeji, a tall, lanky teen pants, trying to catch her breath before giving Jihyo a thumbs up. “We wanted to see you off. It’s not fair that only Bang Chan does it all the time.”

“That’s because I actually help out,” Chan tuts, “You guys just want to be here and be annoying.”

“Don’t be jealous,” Yeji sticks out her tongue, “We can be here too, right, Jihyo?”

“It’s ok,” she smiles, always with a soft spot for their juniors. “Just to send us off.”

“It’s dangerous,” Mina speaks up before looking up at the greying sky, “I’m pretty sure this rain is of demonic origin. You guys should seek shelter while we deal with this. You too, Chan.”

Ryujin shakes her head, almost instantly, “If we’re the next senshi, shouldn’t we learn from you while you’re in action?” Hearing that makes even Sana uneasy. It doesn’t matter if they’re nowhere near the fight, putting their juniors in danger is not an option.

“We’ll fly out now,” Jihyo frowns, then looks at the boy, “Chan, you make sure to take both of them inside the alcazar. Understood?”

He nods, sending a glare towards Yeji, “I’ll make sure of that.”

She sees as Mina walks away, once again inspecting the faraway Wall of North, the only way the demons could ever enter the vicinity of their city.

There's a certain sadness in Mina’s eyes. Perhaps not many can see it, perhaps many are fooled by her gummy smile and gentle words, always amiable.

But Sana knows her, has known her for many years. Mina is and will always remain somewhat of a mystery, even to Sana, but she still knows her friend well enough to look past superfluous words.

Perhaps, Sana thinks, sadness recognizes sadness. Some are just better at hiding it, some are just better at finding it.

“They’re going to be ok, you know?” Sana says, walking next to Mina, “They’re strong girls. Maybe stronger than us when we were their age. When the time comes they’ll be even better.”

“I know,” she says, face stoic, “I just don’t want it to be a _when the time comes_. That’s why I’m fighting, Sana.”

“Fighting for what?”

“For _them._ For Ryujin and Yeji and Bang Chan and Lia and everyone else being trained at the alcazar. I don’t want anyone else to go through this, I want it to end with us. I would never wish this on anyone.”

The words resonate with Sana. Mina was always just a little too brave. Sana, she thinks, could never compete with such honesty, even if the other didn’t believe so.

“Okay,” she says, smiling. We all have our reasons to fight for. _And Mina, you’re mine._

When Jihyo gives them the go, they’re up in the air as the rain pours down, all nine figures, glowing the colors of a rainbow, eyes electric, sharp, flowing with the magic that has chosen them.

“For the power the Rings have given us, Sugar Senshi, let’s fight against the forces of evil!” Jihyo says words that make their rings grow brighter. Sana has always thought the magic words were cool, Chaeyoung snickered at them the first time she heard them. Maybe more of them did behind Sunmi’s back.

A colorful smoke surrounds Sana’s body, she twirls around as she feels warmth slither through her body. A bow on her orange-blonde hair. A pink skirt. The ring on her finger grows in size and shape, morphing into a wand. She feels powerful, more powerful than she could ever be as a simple human. Next to her, up in the air just as she is, the rest of the magical senshi morph as well, each with their own wand and glowing aura — sparks and everything.

They fly towards the wall, ready to face, like Jihyo said, the forces of evil.

+

The best thing about this magical business — perhaps the only good thing, in Mina’s opinion — is that she doesn't have to do it alone. This might be selfish of her, much too greedy, she knows this. If she could change things, she would not want the rest of her friends, the rest of the senshi, to share the same fate as her. But they do and for that, Mina is a little glad.

She looks at Sana, a radiant pink light as she blazes through the sky next to her. They approach the Wall of North and it doesn’t take long until they see a swarm of black smoke. The incubi soldiers, all flying like bats, like ghouls.

As Bang Chan said, there are many of them, more than usual. It might be true that the incubi are not as powerful as the senshi, but there is still strength in numbers, which they so clearly have. Mina sighs, wincing as the smoke of black gets nearer and nearer. They must kill as many as they can, as many as it takes for them to retreat away from Doko.

There is also strength in wit and the senshi have it in Jihyo; the incubi have it in the form of their general. Mina doesn’t know her name, none of them do — she’s just the red-eyed spider that stands at the back of the fight, watching every move. She has never attacked before and Mina thinks they wouldn’t like it if she did.

“Senshi, _go,_ ” Jihyo yells and that’s all she needs to say before Mina surges forward.

“Sana, be careful,” is the last thing Mina says to her friend before being forced to dodge a spear.

They don’t tell you about this when you’re growing up in the city of Doko. They tell you about the clothes, about the magic, about the fancy alcazar you get to live in. They tell you about being a hero for the legends to come, about being a star in the eyes of the citizens, they tell you how everyone will love you. And you’re eight years old and you see Magical Girl Sunmi and Magical Girl Suzy dress in pretty skirts and magical rings and your eyes shine and you tell your mom _yes, I want to be like them._

And you’re chosen. And they take you into this wonderful castle with other girls and even as you train hard, harder than anything you’ve ever done, you still hold the stars in your eyes. Because you will be a senshi, you will be a soldier, you will be the greatest there has ever been. _Love conquers all,_ they say.

But there are things they don’t tell you when you’re eight years old, they don’t tell you things as they take you into the alcazar, they don’t tell you things even as the ring chooses you out of all the other girls. They don’t tell you about the smell of blood.

You think it will smell like copper. That’s not true, not out here on the battlefield. It smells like pain, like death, sharp. And it fills your nostrils and your lungs until you can’t take it anymore. Mina retched the first time she smelled it so intensely.

They don’t tell you about the first time you have to kill. The first time your pretty purple blast kills someone, the smell of burnt skin in the air. They don’t tell you that demons can scream in pain too, and they sound just like them — like girls thrown into a war bigger than them.

They don’t tell you each corpse weighs on you, every single being you’ve killed, engraved into your brain.

And after all that, they don’t tell you that you have to go back into the city, smiling, triumphant and proud. As if the smell of blood isn’t still clinging on to your clothes like a second skin.

From the corner of her eye, she sees Tzuyu dodge some attacks. Chaeyoung and Dahyun are right behind her, guarding the rear. Jihyo takes the lead, Nayeon, and Jeongyeon by her side. They work seamlessly, flawlessly, they’ve done this many times before, after all. She really hopes Ryujin will never get to be this good.

She sticks close to Momo and Sana, fighting the demons attacking her while still in formation, alert to anything that might come as a surprise.

She doesn’t see it very well when it happens, it’s all a blur of smoke and colorful blasts, bodies dropping to the floor like flies. She only hears as Tzuyu, sweet Tzuyu, summons her Crystal Super Power. The big one. _Shining Eternal Crystal Activate,_ or something equally absurd but nonetheless powerful. It sends a full blast of orange at a group of demons and they go down with ease. Mina feels sick to her stomach, no matter what and no matter how many, it never _feels_ good.

And that’s it for those demons, Mina thinks for a moment, their death is uneventful and anticlimactic and that’s because they are not the protagonists of this war. The ones who win, the ones who come out victorious, day after day, are the magical senshi who have justice on their side.

Justice doesn’t always taste good and sugar is sometimes bitter.

+

Skin-crawling horror.

Seulgi sees it all happen in slow motion, like sand falling through her hands, sand that she's unable to keep with her as it slips right through her fingers.

They're supposed to stay behind — Joohyun’s squad. They’re far too precious, the Fathers say, the best soldiers let the pawns go first. It’s always like this. They let the weaker ones go first, see if they can find a weakness in those magical girls, anything that might help Joohyun form a plan, a tactic.

They usually just die, making the swarm of incubi retreat into the citadel once again until the next attack. Seulgi and Sooyoung supervise from afar and Yerim and Seungwan go around the perimeter, always on the lookout.

Seulgi should’ve known. Seungwan’s never one to wait for anyone else.

Amidst the chaos, she flies, black clothes and wind-swept hair across her face, determined as ever because there’s never a time where Son Seungwan isn’t determined.

And it’s just a second, just a slow, eternal second out of Seulgi’s whole life that changes everything. An orange, hot — scalding — blast hits a group of their soldiers. Seungwan is among them.

Seungwan’s body drops to the floor so easily, so lifeless and unceremoniously and there goes Seulgi’s whole life with it. She lets out a scream, a bone-chilling scream of terror that no one hears in the middle of an aerial battlefield.

She drops down, trying to catch Seungwan’s body but it’s too late.

“Seulgi!” Sooyoung flies after her, “What are you doing? Go back to your—” she doesn’t finish her sentence, not when she sees Seulgi on her knees, cradling Seungwan’s body. “Seungwan?” she murmurs, landing softly on the grass. They’re close, they’re all close, and Seungwan was right in the middle of their little group.

Seulgi cries. She yells and cries as the blasts above them keep on going, never stopping for a fallen soldier. Seulgi should get up, should keep on fighting, that is her duty, after all. She doesn’t want to, would it be that bad to die right here? Right now? “Seungwan,” she says again, repeating her name like a mantra.

“Sooyoung,” a new voice startles them. Seulgi looks up to find Joohyun towering above them. Her face is stoic, hard unlike Sooyoung’s wavering lips and trembling hands. “Take her body to the citadel.”

“Shouldn’t we let Seulgi go? I can still stay here and fight.”

“ _Do it._ ” The aura emanating from Joohyun doesn’t leave room for reproach. Sooyoung closes her mouth and moves to take Seungwan from Seulgi.

“No,” she murmurs, holding on to her lover’s increasingly cold body.

“Gi,” Sooyoung whispers, “Don’t.” Seulgi doesn’t have the will to fight, she can only see as Sooyoung takes the body from her, her lips pulled down before she takes off flying as quickly as she came.

“Joohyun,” her voice shakes and the tears won't stop streaming down as she lays on the mud beneath her. “Why?”

Joohyun sighs, sadly, the black wings on her back folding themselves. She takes a few small steps towards Seulgi. Always, always soft with Seulgi. “I told you this and I told Seungwan, they hate us. They don’t care about us. This is why we’re fighting, Seulgi, we’re fighting for _us_ , for ourselves.”

Seulgi shakes her head. No, no, no. Seungwan didn’t want to fight, she just wanted to talk. She just wanted to stop this.

Before she knows it, Seulgi turns around, leaving Joohyun behind, her legs taking her far from the fight. She doesn’t have the energy to use her wings, even her legs will probably give out soon, but she can’t be there a minute longer.

“Seulgi!” Joohyun calls out for her. Seulgi doesn’t stop, her breathing ragged and her lungs are burning but she keeps on running. She runs and runs and runs until the yelling and screaming of the fight grows faint in the distance. Still, Seulgi can hear the sound of Joohyun running right behind her. She wonders why she isn’t using her wings to go after her, but right now it doesn’t matter, she doesn’t want to see anyone, she doesn’t want to hear anything, not even from Joohyun, not right now.

She runs until her legs give out and Seulgi falls to the ground, face hitting the grass and dirt, scraping her cheek.

She doesn’t see it as much as she feels it: Joohyun on top of her, straddling her with force, the muscle in her thighs squeezing Seulgi until she feels the bloodstream pulsate. She takes a hold of Seulgi’s chin, forcing her to look her in the eye as the tear tracks on Seulgi’s cheeks dry off. “Listen to me, Seulgi,” she says and even now, she doesn’t yell, she doesn’t lose her composure. “The humans don’t care about us, they want us dead. No matter what we do, we're just insects in their eyes. Insects they think they can step on. How many of us have died?”

“And the Fathers?” she smiles with bitterness, “They don’t care either. I want them all dead. The humans, the Fathers. Seungwan is gone because of them,” Joohyun’s lips are close to Seulgi’s own now, whispering the harsh words into her mouth. Seulgi’s head starts to spin, Joohyun’s words enter her brain and at first, all she sees is red.

Red, red, red. Joohyun is right. Seungwan died because of them. Because none of them cared enough, none of them wanted to listen. For that, they must die, they must succumb to their sins. They won’t listen, she will make them listen.

Then she sees black. Like a cloud of smoke entering her body. Seulgi lets out a wail, it’s hate, all she feels is all-consuming hate. She feels it as Joohyun kisses her, she feels it as he hears Seungwan’s voice in her head. Hate.

She kisses Joohyun back and for some reason, it feels like there’s no coming back. Not anymore. Even Joohyun, all-powerful and mighty, feels frail to Seulgi’s touch. What’s happening?

The smoke courses through her body and it doesn’t feel good anymore, it’s — it’s painful. Seulgi likes it.

She feels as the wings in her back extend, she stands up from the ground, pushing Joohyun off from her, who can only stare back at her with wide eyes. It’s the first time Seulgi sees her with this expression on her face.

Seulgi floats, her wings growing and growing and there’s a sharp pain near her abdomen. Appendages she has never seen before growing out from her, like wispy tentacles made out of smoke. This is power, delectable power coursing through her body and Seulgi feels like she could do anything. “Seulgi,” Joohyun whispers from the ground. “We found you.”

“Joohyun,” Seulgi says back and even her voice is unrecognizable, a sharp, loud sound that makes a few birds fly away.

“We found her,” Joohyun says again, mostly to herself, “The queen.”

Her mind is hazy, Seulgi has no idea what the other is saying. There’s only one thing in her mind right now: kill.

+

The battle is almost over, just like it always is, quickly and with no significant scratches to complain about. It is a good thing, Sana is getting sleepy and tired and she can imagine the rest of the girls are too.

She looks for Mina amongst the now dwindling crowd of demons. They are leaving, scurrying back as they feel the crack of dawn near. Some are slower, with injured limbs or wounds and it wouldn’t be so hard to kill them off while they’re weak, but it’s more of a hassle than what it is worth. Sana yawns, stretching her back. “Mina,” she flies next to her friend, “Do you think we could leave now?”

She turns to her, a slight scratch on her cheek. Sana frowns, wanting to reach out and wipe away the blood.

“I agree with Sana, c’mon, what are they going to do?” Nayeon says, Momo by her side, “They’ll just turn to smoke if the sun touches them.”

“Ugh, Nayeon, don’t remind me,” Momo scrunches her nose, “They smell like burnt skin.”

Sana opens her mouth to reply, but she feels Mina tense next to her before she can do so. She eyes her friend, “Mina?” They all turn to her, curious.

“Do you not feel it?” Mina says softly, eyes blinking, unfocused. “It’s…” she shivers.

“ _DAHYUN.”_

They all turn alert, attack stance ready, eyes shaking and muscles tense, just like they’re trained to be. The sound came from not too far away, it was Jeongyeon.

There’s a piercing scream in the air and it’s loud and terrifying and horrible. It’s Dahyun.

Sana sees it all before the rest of them do.

She’s terrifying, big and terrifying and looks like a nightmare. A floating demon, dark smoke surrounding her, long limbs and lots, lots of red eyes covering her face. Just looking from afar and Sana wants to cry at the horrible image, her hands shaking. Still, even the image of such a monster couldn’t prepare her for what happens next. A limb, an appendage, a leg, a tentacle — whatever the fuck that thing has — it pierces through Dahyun with unimaginable speed. Jeongyeon, who had been so close to her, screamed in terror, only watching as the demon took Dahyun with it.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” Sana murmurs and her whole world collapses, she feels like she’s going to vomit.

“Formation!” Jihyo says and Sana wants to know how she does it, to stay so calm and collected in times like this. Even as Dahyun’s body is now on the floor, lifeless, blood pooling around her.

Perhaps if Sana knew this is the most terror Jihyo has ever felt in her life, she would feel even worse.

For the first time in her life, Sana feels useless. Even as the others get in formation, their magical wands in their hands and body emanating magical light, she can tell they’re terrified. Tzuyu, poor thing, can barely hold herself up in the air, her hands shaking terribly. Still, she’s holding on better than Sana — they all are. She feels useless and pathetic and _sick._ They’re down one and Sana is not making it any better by not moving from her spot. Momo sends her a worried glance but there’s not much she can do before they fly towards the demon.

Who is this demon? Why have they not seen it before? Why… how did it kill Dahyun so easily? The sun should be coming out soon, so why is it not cowering away in fear like the rest?

Sana attacks without thinking, as if in a trance, only following Jihyo’s and Nayeon’s orders as they all circle around the demon, attacking and evading its attacks. They use Chaeyoung’s bubble shield to protect themselves from the sharp tentacles, but they don’t know how much it can hold. Even with all of them attacking, it doesn’t seem to do much to the demon.

This one is different, Sana can tell, not only because it _looks_ different and horrible and frightening, but it feels so as well. The demons they face off are usually mere soldiers, weak in their conviction, just bothersome. This one reeks of hate and nothing more.

No, Sana thinks, there's something else, something familiar. Despair? Loneliness? Grief. Somehow, that is absolutely worse than anything she's ever encountered.

“Sana, look out!” Mina says, flying forward to move her out of reach as a tentacle tries to impale her. It misses, thank god, but she’s still shaken. _So stupid,_ how could she have missed that?

Sana turns around, worried, too see how Mina is faring. She feels like she can do nothing as a tentacle goes to strike Mina, who doesn't sense it at all — she's still looking at Sana.

“Mina!” Sana yells, voice breaking and desperate because she would rather _die_ than let anything happen to her friend. She feels helpless, so, so vulnerable and weak and small.

If it hadn't been for a red blast coming from out of nowhere, the demon would have probably gotten all of Mina. It still scrapes her side and Sana cries out as Mina wails in pain, blood gushing out from her. On the other side, Nayeon distracts the demon, Jeongyeon and Jihyo by her side.

“Mina,” Sana whispers, flying out in an instant to help her out. Her whole uniform is starting to get soaked in blood, the lilac color turning dark. Sana should stay here and fight, it's what she's been trained to do but for a moment she doesn't care, all she wants to do is make sure Mina is alright.

She holds onto her, flying down below to place her gently under a tree. “Mina,” she whispers, “Are you ok?” The wound is deep and nasty, but Mina will recover, her cells will regenerate soon enough.

“You should go back,” Mina groans out in pain, “They need you.”

It's so pathetic, really, how they've been reduced to _this_ by that demon. Where are the almighty senshi now? Where are the arrogant, glorious senshi everyone loves so dearly? On the floor, bleeding out, hiding, dead.

There's another scream, louder. She can tell it’s Nayeon and Sana doesn’t want to turn around. And then—

“Seulgi.”

It’s not a voice any of them recognize, it’s soft, dark, rich. It makes Sana shiver just a little. It repeats, “Seulgi.” A demon — a normal one, small and dainty, with dark long hair, floats around the creature. It’s the demon general, the one they all have seen from afar. Looking from down below, a little closer than usual, Sana never knew such beauty could exist, especially in a demon. The tentacled monster turns around, as if reacting to the voice… to the name. _Seulgi?_ Is that its name?

“The sun is coming out,” the general says, “Let’s go.”

“No,” Seulgi says, her voice like a thousand little needles.

“ _Seulgi,_ ” and it almost sounds like a chastise. Nayeon is on the floor, wincing in pain as the whole exchange is going on, Jihyo trying to aid her bleeding. The rest of them are still in the air, panting, tired, bleeding. All of them watch intensely as the general and Seulgi look at each other. She says again, “Let’s go with Seungwan. We can come back later. Better.”

“Seungwan,” Seulgi repeats and there it is again, that feeling of unadulterated grief emanating from this demon. It’s like the fight is punched out of her, as if the senshi are mere flies, not worth even looking at. The sun, in fact, is starting to come out.

“ _Seulgi,_ let’s go.”

And she does; she turns around, unceremoniously following the general without any more questions. The senshi are quiet, none of them even dare to attack them as they leave; they could not win, not like this.

The air is still cold but the twilight is sure to come out soon. The silence lasts a few minutes, even after Seulgi and the general are long gone. Sana doesn’t know if the senshi are stunned or if they’re just tired, relieved. They've never done anything like this, something that makes them feel small and useless. Nayeon’s cry breaks the silence, she’s still bleeding out on the floor. The rest of the girls fly towards her, everyone just wants to go back to the alcazar as soon as possible.

In the distance, Chaeyoung starts crying, a mortified cry as she lands next to Dahyun.

Sana turns to her friend, unshed tears in her eyes, heart in her throat, “I’m sorry, Mina,” she whispers, hair matted to her forehead, “I’m sorry.”

Mina shakes her head, “For what?” her head rests against Sana’s legs, color draining from her face. “This isn’t your fault.”

“I think Nayeon lost a leg. Dahyun is…”

“It’s not your fault,” she repeats, unyielding. Mina was always the wiser of them all. How can one be broken when they have been broken since the start?

A petal falls from the tree, pink and soft, just on top of Mina’s nose and Sana gets taken back to not too long ago. She wishes life could be simple. They're just kids. All of them — they’re just kids. “I like someone,” she sniffles. At least the blood on Mina’s clothes is drying.

“Yeah?” Mina finally smiles. “You always like someone.”

“I do,” Sana says, brushing away the hair from Mina’s face. “I do always like you.”

“Ah,” she sighs, “Why did you have to tell me here, Sana?” Mina scrunches her nose, “I was bleeding five minutes ago.”

She supposes it’s not ideal, Sana sniffles again. Her eyes are red from crying, her hands are still shaking, holding onto Mina with all her might. They’re both drenched in blood and mud and their spirits are broken. But life is so fragile, isn’t it? And Sana sees that right now, so tangible, so delicate, so out of reach. She’s trying to hold on to it as long as she can and if she won't even tell Mina how much she loves her then what’s the point? Life is not written in the stars, they’re the hand and pen that write their own story.

There might not be a tomorrow and Sana cannot let her todays go to waste. “I like you.”

“I like you too.”

When Sana leans down to kiss Mina, the tears fall and the salt mingles in with their breaths. Love can’t conquer all, but at least Mina Myoui will be there by her side.

After all, Seulgi and Joohyun are waiting too.

+

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ten_taeil) and [CC](https://curiouscat.me/nakamoon) come say hi :)


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